Articles and news on VOIP and SIP developments

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SIP Trunking is a growing Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and unified communications method.
A new study by Heavy Reading IP Services Insider has shown that businesses will install 24.3 million Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunks over the next three years. In 2009 there were 8.5 million SIP trunk installations in all.

SIP Trunking is very popular among SMBs as it cuts costs and gives them flexibility in the operation of their business phone systems.
A research analyst with Heavy Reading , Denise Culver, said: "SIP trunking is a way for smaller enterprises to afford the same leased-line services which are available to their larger competitors. They can have all the prestige that comes with looking like a large, organised corporation, but without having to make the same cost investments."
She added: "Although doubts remain about the service quality of SIP trunking, it's clear that small businesses are seeing the value of IP-based networks. As they do SIP trunking will grow significantly in the run up to 2013."

Referred to as 'jailbreaking', third-party applications are installed by going around the restrictions imposed by the manufacturer in this case Apple. These restrictions prevent iPhone users from using unauthorized Apple applications.

This could be good news for VoIP fans as there are an increasing number of VoIP applications being released for the iPhone to allow cheap worldwide calls.

The news will also be a breath of fresh air for users as there are many apps which have had developer restrictions imposed on them by Apple. Furthermore these restrictions prevent users from getting the full capabilities of the iPhone which could become a full mobile broadband solution thanks to its unlimited data access.

With that in mind the Chip Dowload site came up with a full guide on how to jailbreak your iPhone.

1) Download iOS 4.0.1 for your version of iPhone.

2) Update this to the latest firmware using the IPSW file which is available on iTunes 9.2

3) Start Redsn0w 0.9.5b5-5, Mac or Windows and point it to iOS 4 (Final Version) to proceed with the jailbreak.

4) Select “Install Cydia” and click Next, making that sure your device is plugged in but turned off first.

5) Connect your device in recovery mode. You will see a screen where you have to quickly hold “Power” button and then hold the “Home” button simultaneously. After a few seconds release the “Power” button but keep holding the “Home” button until installation begins.

Once you are in you can unleash the full VoIP capabilities of your iPhone.

VoIP provider AltiGen has given Unified Communications software to a Child Abuse Prevention Center (CAPC) to help them protect youngsters.
To enable the center in Orange County, California, to quickly respond to child abuse complaints the latest IP telephony software as well as 100 IP phones were donated.
These replaced their old phone system which was outdated and often disconnected at opportune moments or misplaced voicemails. VoIP and Unified Communications allows people to communicate very quickly and time is of the essence when it comes to saving children's lives.
The CAPC has an early intervention program to prevent child abuse before it occurs and strengthen parent-child relationships in the process. In 2009 the Center helped over 15,000 children, 4,300 families and 3,800 parents.
AltiGen Sales VP Mike Plumer said: "Approval to help a victim in a child abuse case can take time but with our intuitive VoIP software we were able to send crucial call recordings and voicemails to county officials quickly. The first time we used this feature we got approval to help a victim of abuse within hours, as opposed to it taking weeks.”

3CX, which offers a software based VoIP PBX for Windows, has released version 9 of its Phone System.

The Phone system V9 gives a free SIP phone for Android, video support and enterprise capabilities.

This upgrade allows clients to monitor their remote PBX installations via the 3CX Assistant. It also offers automatic remote installation and configuration of the 3CX Assistant and the 3CXPhone for a full VoIP solution.

The CEO of 3CX, Nick Galea, said: “The 3CX Phone System 9 is a complete Unified Communications solution. We have added support for smartphones as clients and standards-based video. Furthermore there are key enterprise features which widen 3CX’s appeal to larger companies”

He added: “3CX now has over 20,000 server installations worldwide. With v9 available this number will grow dramatically.”

The V9 Video support allows a single click set-up of video calls with other 3CXPhone users. Video calls are also possible to standards-based video phones including those made by Yealink, Xlite and Grandstream.

In terms of Android smartphone support, with 3CX v9 Android users can receive or make calls from anywhere using their extension. They just download the 3CXPhone for Android softphone and configure it to their 3CX Phone System account.

Other features are the provisioning of the 3CXphone and 3CX Assistant which makes deploying and administering installations much easier.

Phone System users can install the client apps by clicking on an HTTP link which will automatically install and configure them. Updates are automatically sent to the clients.

The 3CX Assistant now lets you create conference calls to internal and external users easily and offers improved presence and call forwarding.

Broadband services in the UK are better than those in the US, which enables better VoIP quality, according to research.

Market research firm Strategy Analytics revealed a new report on technology in 57 countries, rating them according to cost, speed, household penetration and urban quotient.

Amazingly American only came 23rd, one place behind the UK. South Korea came first followed by Hong Kong and Holland.

In theory VoIP quality in Britain is better than in America as VoIP relies on high speed broadband to create quality IP telephony solutions and increased voice data.

Ben Piper of Strategy Analytics said: "We feel confident that our multifactor index is a true indicator of broadband capabilities in a country."

Meanwhile VoIP traffic continues to rise in the US now that the firm 360networks has rolled out improved coverage to 1.4 million people. VoIP users in California, including the area of Sacremento, can now make use of 17,200 miles of fibre-optics which will provide increased IP telephony solutions.

The state of Connecticut is calling residents to warn them about dangerous weather or incidents, but warns that Voice over Internet Protocol lines will not be included on its database.

Locals who do not have VoIP lines can register their numbers here. Those who do have a VoIP telephone number need to go to the CT Alert sign-up page.

The 911 Emergency Notification System is used by the Connecticut Public Safety agencies to make people aware about hazardous events such as public health emergencies.
These agencies include the fire brigade and the police as well as Homeland Security. Using phone system contact information they can relay specific warnings about local threats while keeping the contact information strictly confidential.

A 'visualizing the internet' graphic created by the company Nielsen shows that VoIP is one the main reasons why people use the internet.
Considering that VoIp service Skype alone which has 39 million unique users, VoIP in its entirety accounts for 0.82% of the total internet usage. That is compared to some 0.56% of internet usage surveyed in the study being taken up by adult content.
By far the most dominant internet presence were search engines with Google alone claiming over 349 million unique users. The survey covered numerous countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Australia, Brazil and Germany. The percentage figures represent unique users in January 2010 and the data is presented in the form of a treemap where you can fit a large amount of data into a small space. It was gathered as part of a BBC season on Superpowers.

This week build 13545 of the Phone System 9 will be available for download. It allows businesses to take advantage of all the cheap calling benefits of VoIP through a secure and organised operating system.

The release of the Skype app for iOS4 has got everyone chattering. CNET wrote that it had taken the new app for a test drive and was pleasantly surprised, while being far more overjoyed that the VoIP company will cease to charge for its services over 3G networks.
While CNET extolled the virtues of cheap VoIP calling it added: "The downside is that your call is being squished into a data pipe, so the quality isn't as good as with a normal connection. In our tests, call quality varied. We found there was noticeable distortion at times, and we occasionally experienced a small delay. But Skype generally offered call quality as good as, or better than, that of other VoIP services we've tested."
The verdict was that although the app still had some way to go it was very useful and easy to use.
Meanwhile the Independent newspaper said that iPhone users were literally rejoicing over the news. One user commented: "I've been waiting years for this, thank you so much for finally making this happen."
The newspaper commented on the benefits of the VoIP app which included being able to leave it running in the background while you make and receive calls.
T3 ran with the headline 'Skype for iPhone: iOS 4 version outed' and said that the app would surely create many happy customers as long as they didn't allow huge phone system bills to rack up. It also said that despite Skype's improvements, Fring still dominates the video calling market.

Emirates is a high class airline which specialises in comfortable long haul flights and what better way to pass the time than to make low-cost calls, for business or pleasure purposes?

Passengers on this Middle Eastern airline will be able to use VoIP solutions on board as of 2012 because Emirates has given their double decker Airbus A380 planes full Wi-Fi internet access capabilities.

That will allow flyers to contact friends and colleagues mid air via IP telephony solutions at a minimal cost.
The president of the airline, Tim Clarke, said. "Emirates is constantly trying to improve our on-board entertainment.
"Our decision is to install a full set of in-flight connectivity services including VoIP. This will be part of our ongoing effort to provide customers with the real-time access to information that they need."

Swiss firm OnAir will provide the internet connection and they have a strong track record in operating fully connected flights.

The success of Voice over Internet Protocol for cheap high-quality calls continues to push cellular options to one side according to a new survey.
It found that 82 per cent of American iPhone users preferred to activate the Toktumi application (Line2) for VoIP calling.
They said that VoIP was a much more attractive and cost effective option than having to deal with low quality cellular networks, while 16 per cent liked the fact that VoIP services could provide them with a second number for their business calls.
The chief executive officer of Toktumi, Peter Sissons, said: "I am pleased that so many users wished to use the Line2 application, obviously valuing its flexibility and features, in preference to the normal iPhone calling experience."
The success of the app is due in part to the fact that wireless internet is widely available throughout the United States. This Wi-Fi alternative enables customers to access VoIP solutions easily even if they have little in the way of mobile phone reception.

The world of VoIP products moves fast so here’s a round up of some of the latest developments and products out this week.
Telefonica O2, the German unit of the Spanish telecoms group Telefonica, has launched an IP-based mobile phone. With it you can get local numbers for contacts abroad, thus using cheap VoIP calls to save money. It works via a JAJAH's IP Communications Platform
The chairman and CEO of Telefonica Europe, Matthew Key, said: “Telefonica is meeting the growing demand for VoIP services. We have launched JAJAH based products in Germany to break through Europe’s largest telecoms market.”
Meanwhile VoIP company Speakeasy is giving a free phone offer to ease the burden on remote workers. The Seattle company offers Hosted VoIP through an advanced feature called Remote Office. There is also a time-saving feature called Find Me/Follow Me which allows you instant access to your primary contacts no matter where you are located. The service costs $27.95 per month for a free phone and unlimited calling.
In other VoIP related news it looks like low cost Skype calls on the iPhone 4 could become a thing of the past now that the app has been removed from the app store.
However the company seems to be at a loss as to explain why: “We’re very eager to work out why we are not seeing the Skype app in the App store. All we can tell you is that this has nothing to do with our Verizon deal, as it should not affect the Skype for iPhone app.”
Despite this glitch, which is probably temporary, you can still get the Skype app on the Android smartphone.
Another new product is the 3CX SIP Phone for Android which is a free download.

The Windows Messenger app for the iPhone has spread like wildfire with over one million downloads in less than a week.

A Microsoft spokesperson said: "This early momentum is fantastic and we really appreciate the feedback that we have been getting. Microsoft look forwards to updating the iPhone app shortly to address some of the issues that users have pointed out, so that we can continue to improve the experience."

Having initially seen the MSN product fall down the pecking order with the arrival of social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, the Windows Messenger app has including social networking aspects like status updates and a photo album. Initial feedback from the industry has praised the app for being well-designed and easy to use.

Not only is Windows Messenger available through this app but there are millions of people who are connecting with Messenger friends on mobile phones through a browser, client application or SMS. The download is free so it can't hurt to have a look.

It is often said that we take our freedoms for granted in parts of the Western World, but Voice over Internet Protocol is becoming a good example of why you should not.
In free market economies the chance to make free or low cost calls over the internet, while not always welcomed, is at least accepted. However in some countries including Lebanon, the competition that VoIP gives mobile network providers is not tolerated.
The Indian government has all but blocked VoIP in their country after demanding that VoIP providers give readable transcriptions of all the conversations that take place over their networks. It is hard to imagine that companies like Skype will acquiesce to such a request.

According to the Hindu Times an internal Government said that The Department of Telecom (DoT) "will call the representatives of Blackberry Research In Motion and Skype and ask them to make sure that the content going through their telecom service providers is in a readable format. If this does not happen within 15 days, services that do not allow lawful interception on a real-time basis will be blocked/banned.”

These measures may also apply to Google communications, but this has not yet been confirmed. This is not the first time that the Indian government has impeded the progress of VoIP in their country. Currently only International Long Distance (ILD) and IP to IP calls are permitted in India.

The Indian government does however have a commitment to increased security in light of recent terrorist attacks. It was proved that criminals in Mumbai have been relying on VoIP to plan their operations.

The balance between freedom and security is always a fine one. But surely there must be a way to work with what is one of the most exciting technologies of the 21st century.

Google will be branching out into the world of Voice over Internet Protocol as it looks to challenge the market dominance of VoIP product Skype.
Last year Google acquired Gizmo5, a VoIP company and they are created software together in conjunction with Google Voice. While Google Voice is at present only available in the US, the Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that it will soon be coming to the UK.

As yet it is not known whether it will be a desktop or browser-based product but it is clear that many people want the former with a petition having been started that aims to collect 500,000 signatures.

The Google Voice service has lots of neat features, among them the ability to designate one number to all your contact needs, including mobiles, landlines and faxes. That way it's easier to coordinate all of your communications.
Commenting on ElectricPig, njs said: "I have a US Google Voice which I use in the UK. I have several US numbers running via VoIP to my Nexus One smartphone. This means I can make calls to the US for free and many other destinations for next to nothing all from my mobile phone. This amazing service will work even better when it comes to the UK!"

A rapidly expanding American VoIP solution company, Appia Communications, will now add SIP Trunking internet phone lines to its products. Customers can either use a hosted service or route it through the phone system which is already on their premises.

The move aims to give VoIP customers more flexibility when they make low cost phone calls. The SIP Trunks will replace IP-PBX and traditional PBX phone lines to give total network connectivity over a broadband internet connection.

Appia president Victor von Schlegell said: “We have added SIP trunking to our portfolio of VoIP services to give customer and partners another option. It presents another business class VoIP solution for companies with no need to abandon existing investments.

He added: “Flexibility is central to Appia’s service model and personalized solutions are the norm. That is why we have offered SIP trunks as an alternative to traditional phone systems.”

Appia Communications has its headquarters in Traverse City, Michigan, and is one of America’s fastest-growing solution providers in the technology industry. The company’s communication services help customers reduce costs, improve productivity and enhance customer care.

The prevalence of 3G and 4G networks has hugely increased the amount of mobile VoIP minutes. Analysts believe that the figure will rocket up from 15 billion mobile VoIP minutes this year to 470.6 billion mobile VoIP minutes in five years time (2015).

While this increase is being felt across all markets, it is particularly pronounced in developed markets where 3G networks have become the norm. However, a great deal of traffic is bypassing VoIP networks altogether in the form of WiFi mobile VoIP.

Anthony Cox, Senior Analyst at Juniper Research, said: "There are many types of mobile VoIP. WiFi mobile VoIP is potentially damaging to VoIP traffic figures as it bypasses mobile networks.
"Because of this WiFi mobile VoIP will cost operators five billion dollars globally over the next five years."
He added: "Even though some operators tout the benefits of mobile VoIP, it will take time for many of them to accept it, as it represents a loss of network control."
However Juniper Research predicted that competition and regulation would eventually pressure many operators into forging partnerships with VoIP providers. This will be partly prompted by the decline in their revenues.
Mobile VoIP is available through various providers, or by downloading an app to a handset or smartphone such as the Android.